# Glass Top Humidor Question



## eboniknight (Dec 3, 2008)

I just purchased what I consider to be a nice glasstop humidor with the hygrometer built into the front and now I have a question that should probably be obvious. Where do I attach the humidifer??  Seems silly to attatch it to the glass. Can it be attached to the sides?? Any advice for this panic stricken newbie!!


----------



## tobychu (Apr 1, 2008)

_Usually_ the humidifier that comes with the humidor are garbage. I would buy Heartfelt beads and put them in the bottom of the humidor. If you rotate your stock you should be fine.

Don't forget to season your humidor before stocking it up. :tu


----------



## ca21455 (Jul 23, 2006)

eboniknight said:


> I just purchased what I consider to be a nice glasstop humidor with the hygrometer built into the front and now I have a question that should probably be obvious. Where do I attach the humidifer??  Seems silly to attatch it to the glass. Can it be attached to the sides?? Any advice for this panic stricken newbie!!


When I had a glass top I placed the humidifier on the top shelf. If you do not have a shelf you can put it on the bottom or attach it to the sides.

Glass tops are notorious for not holding humidity if the glass is not well sealed to the wood. Recommend you get some beads and a digital hygrometer. The beads can be placed in a bag and stored anywhere not in touch with the cigars. You can get a small piece of wax paper to put the beads on if you run out of room. Then you can lay the beads on top of the cigars. Not the best option, but it works.

Good luck with your new humidor!


----------



## tobychu (Apr 1, 2008)

ca21455 said:


> Glass tops are notorious for not holding humidity if the glass is not well sealed to the wood.


Hmmm....this is a concern for me. I'm *very* close to buying a new humidor and really like the glass top. My main concern is proper a seal, before aesthetics.

Anyone else have a glass top humidor? If so, have you had any issues with the seal?

Thanks! :ss


----------



## ssutton219 (Apr 17, 2007)

I have a glass top (and front) and it has the analog Hygro in the front and it leaks....but I am in no hurry to fix it as it leaks just enough to hold the beads @ 62-65%.

Its easy to re-seal the humi if need be...there have been a few posts about it here.




Shawn


----------



## j-easy-cl (Dec 2, 2008)

i have a glass top milano from cheaphumidors, it seems to hold humidity fine. i really like it. it is nice to be able to check your temp and humidity without opening it. and of course i can look at my stogies all day long without opeing the box and losing humitidy.


----------



## s15driftking (Oct 22, 2008)

tobychu said:


> _Usually_ the humidifier that comes with the humidor are garbage. I would buy Heartfelt beads and put them in the bottom of the humidor. If you rotate your stock you should be fine.
> 
> Don't forget to season your humidor before stocking it up. :tu


1. That DOES NOT help answer his question as all.

To the OP.

I own a glasstop 300 count and i put my humidifiers in the basin next to some cigars... worked fine until i upgraded to beads, then to an active system. You should be fine just placing it on one of the sides or in the very front by the feet of the cigars.

As far as "the glass wood seal isnt good" arguement goes....

Tampahumidor says that mien is sealed where the glass meets the wood with a gasket... whether or not its true .... who knows.

The obvious fact is that most of the humis are made overseas...so, if you buy one glasstop from tampahumi (and they say its sealed with a gasket goo of some sort) chances are their other ones will be too... because they usually all come off the same chinese assembly line.

Regardless.... i taped over every possible leaky are on mine because i was sittign at around 62% humidity and it stayed right there... the low RH issue was due to the wintertime weather and RH...

heres the thread...

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=202259&highlight=paranoid

All in all, i stick with my impending statement..."are glasstop humis more prone to leaking? Yes, does mine? no"


----------



## NCRadioMan (Feb 28, 2005)

eboniknight said:


> Where do I attach the humidifer??


Bottom center. Humidity rises.



s15driftking said:


> That DOES NOT help answer his question as all.


No, but good advice nontheless.


----------



## tobychu (Apr 1, 2008)

s15driftking said:


> 1. That DOES NOT help answer his question as all.


Wow.....I was just trying to help.


----------



## itsme_timd (Nov 21, 2008)

tobychu said:


> Wow.....I was just trying to help.


I thought it was a pretty good response, FWIW.  The question was about location and that was answered - with a little extra advice.

I changed from the puck humidifier, which seemed to vary a lot and it was hard to tell when to recharge it, and I now use the 65% Heartfelt beads. The RH stays pretty dead on now, and the beads just need an occasional check IMHO.


----------



## ssutton219 (Apr 17, 2007)

s15driftking said:


> 1. That DOES NOT help answer his question as all.


Actually it does...He said

Originally Posted by *tobychu* http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?p=2012154#post2012154 
_Usually_ the humidifier that comes with the humidor are garbage. I would buy Heartfelt beads and *put them in the bottom of the humidor*. If you rotate your stock you should be fine.

Don't forget to season your humidor before stocking it up.

Looks like "Where should I put the Humidifier was answered there.

However you decide to humidify your Humidor is up to you..I have used the foam, beads, jell and the water pillows. The main thing is not to stress about it...its suppose to be relaxing....:ss

Shawn


----------



## jbo (Feb 16, 2007)

I also have a glasstop that my daughter bought me a couple of Christmas' ago. I have tried placing the humidifier in every part of the box. I was never able to keep the RH above 68% and most of the time it hovered around 60%. However, a good friend of mine gave me some of the beads (actually this is my second go round with beads...nobody told me not to immerse them in water in which case they turn into popcorn...but I digress)...

Here's what I did and it might be helpful to you. I took masking tape and applied it to the box where it seals...I put it on the left side because it looked like it wasn't sealing right and I put it three strips thick. Then the aforementioned beads came in. I take an old leftover humidifier and line it thick with paper towels. Then I really wet down the paper towels and put it in the bottom of my humidor next to the beads. The beads soak up the moisture but don't crack. When the paper towels dry out the beads are charged and the box has stayed in the 70% range even though the air is very, very dry. Hope this helps.

BTW, again, the beads and the humidifier are in the bottom of the box because, as has been mentioned, humidity rises.


----------



## icehog3 (Feb 20, 2005)

People getting flamed for trying to help......Merry Christmas.


----------



## smokeyandthebandit05 (Dec 29, 2007)

My glass top also has no problem with the seal. If your really worried caulk the glass with some silicone sealer and wipe off the excess to leave a clean edge


----------



## fsjonsey (May 23, 2008)

The best way to seal any cheap glass windowed humidor is with a thin bead of clear GE silicone II caulk around any of the internal glass to wood seams. Do this when you first purchase the humidor. Allow it to sit open for a week for the silicone to cure and any odor to dissipate. Once the smell is gone, season it as you normally would and stock it up. It should hold humidity fine from now on.


----------



## GatorBob (Dec 22, 2008)

I have a small desktop glass humi and I do not have a problem holding around 69% humidity. All I use in the winter months is a 72% Boveda pack and it works great. The Boveda packs have worked great in all of my humidors.


----------



## ca21455 (Jul 23, 2006)

Just for the record, had my glass top for a couple of years and now my son-in-law is using it. It worked fine until the winter came and the house humidity went down to 35-40%. I sealed it with silicone and it worked fine. 

The humidity was more constant with the beads on top. I assume because the sealing surface was not perfect and still leaked a little.

My cabinet has a glass door. Because the sealing surface is so large there is still some leakage. It is not a problem in the winter because I use an active humidifier in addition to 3 pounds of beads. When the heat is turned off I remove the active humidifier and the beads do the job.

I really liked the glass top humi. Don't let possible leakage deter you. If there is a problem it can always be resolved.


----------



## JDTapout (Dec 26, 2008)

I have had my glass top for a while as well. This is the first year of problems, and i think it is from out recent move. I may reseal the top (for the first time by me). i think the move caused the glas to come a little loose of its seal. 

before now, it's worked great for at least 4 years.


----------



## guy g (Apr 17, 2007)

I have a 100ct glasstop. It soaks up moisture. I have three devices in mine and two hygrometers. They hygos sit on the shelf or on top of the gars. It maintains 65-68 real well. not as good as my acrylic jars.


----------



## Cigar Man Andy (Aug 13, 2008)

Does it look like this.









I do this.









It works fine. I use this one at work and it holds humidity fine for a cheapo. 
The gel jar, beads, tubes are all fine for a small humi. 
If you are that worried, buy and Oasis and be done with it.


----------



## Thrak (Oct 21, 2008)

I have a 150ct glass top with 2 glass windows in front too (+front hygro dial_, I had a small problem but was able to seal it off without much trouble using silicon ear gels ($2 for 12 gels and I only used 3).

I use 3 drimystat tubes, 2 in front on the bottom and 1 in back on the bottom. I maintain 64-65% pretty easily now and it recovers VERY quickly.


----------



## TomHagen (Feb 18, 2008)

Check out this baby... it's been about 8 mos. and she sits like a rock at 67%. 
http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/album.php?albumid=177

I installed the glass myself, go with the silicone mentioned


----------



## ThreeSheets (Jul 4, 2008)

:2
Before you get all worked up about this, season and stock it normally. See if there is actually a problem before you go to work on fixing one.


----------



## e-man (Jan 5, 2009)

tobychu said:


> I'm *very* close to buying a new humidor and really like the glass top. My main concern is proper a seal, before aesthetics.


I have never seen a glass top that passes the flashlight test. You're not supposed to see any light escaping, but they always leak light straight up out the top.


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

*Umm... a few obvious points*

First off, we all know that* light* is as much an enemy as air. Glass (real glass) lets in every (or nearly every) band width of light. Not good for mature bacca' leaves, but fun to look through. Light oxidizes protiens.... bacca' leaves are made up of proteases and vegitable pulps... also protiens... light destroys them, turning them into acids and other things you don't want on your tongue.  Plastics, like poly-carbonites, do filter some of the UV spectrum, but in the long term, there is still oxidation. Bottom line; if you can see inside your humi, there's light attacking your sticks.

Next thing is, RH is diffucult to regulate over space (excluding an active system). This means that a humidification medium in the ceiling might not keep the sticks in the bottom at just the right RH. It's best to use smaller media and place them equidistantly in the box. Let's say you have a three-tray box. Place a medium in the upper left and another in the lower right. Move the hygro around your box periodically for an accurate reading.

Hope this helps.


----------



## TomHagen (Feb 18, 2008)

*Re: Umm... a few obvious points*



Herf N Turf said:


> First off, we all know that* light* is as much an enemy as air. Glass (real glass) lets in every (or nearly every) band width of light. Not good for mature bacca' leaves, but fun to look through. Light oxidizes protiens.... bacca' leaves are made up of proteases and vegitable pulps... also protiens... light destroys them, turning them into acids and other things you don't want on your tongue.  Plastics, like poly-carbonites, do filter some of the UV spectrum, but in the long term, there is still oxidation. Bottom line; if you can see inside your humi, there's light attacking your sticks.


  Proof?? I have never heard this before. It is not like they are sitting in direct sunlight... just a room with the light off at least 50% of the time (night).


----------



## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

*Re: Umm... a few obvious points*



TomHagen said:


> Proof?? I have never heard this before. It is not like they are sitting in direct sunlight... just a room with the light off at least 50% of the time (night).


Proof? That light radiation causes oxidation? huh? Besides explaining the process, Im not sure I can help you. Isn't this common knowledge? Put one shoe in a southern window for a month, the other under the bed. 
Ambient room light is about a 1 on a 1-100 scale. You'll likely smoke them loooong before it could do anything. Direct sunlight is another story.


----------



## TomHagen (Feb 18, 2008)

*Glass top Humis*



Herf N Turf said:


> Ambient room light is about a 1 on a 1-100 scale. You'll likely smoke them loooong before it could do anything. Direct sunlight is another story.


Agreed. Even many of the world-class habanos collectors keep their cigars in glass front/top humis for years.


----------

